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Top 5 US news stories

October 15 2025

Greg Loving

15 Oct 2025 • 6 min read

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has adopted a hard-line approach in the China-U.S. trade dispute. ICHIRO CANNO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Beijing Plays Hardball, Believing Trump's 'Achilles' Heel' Is the Stock Market

Treasury Secretary Details 'Operation Warp Speed' for Rare Earths as New Industrial Policy

2026 Medicare Enrollment to Be Difficult as Insurers Squeeze Plans, Trim Benefits

Trump Administration Halts Nearly $28 Billion for Projects in Democratic Strongholds Amid Shutdown

Tensions Escalate as Deadly Fighting on Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Follows Alleged Airstrike

…US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ENTERS 15th DAY…

1. Beijing Plays Hardball, Believing Trump's 'Achilles' Heel' Is the Stock Market

In its trade standoff with Washington, Beijing thinks it has found America’s Achilles’ heel: President Trump’s fixation on the stock market. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is betting that the U.S. economy can’t absorb a prolonged trade conflict with the world’s second-largest economy, according to people close to Beijing’s decision-making. China is holding a firm line because of its conviction, the people said, that an escalating trade war will tank markets, as it did in April after Trump announced his so-called Liberation Day tariffs, prompting Beijing to hit back. China expects that the prospect of another market meltdown ultimately will force Trump to negotiate at an expected summit with Xi late this month, the people said. Beijing continued playing hardball this week, escalating the trade fight Monday by sanctioning the U.S. units of South Korean shipping company Hanwha Ocean. The move whipsawed U.S. markets on Tuesday, triggering a sharp early selloff as hopes for easing tensions faded, before major indexes partially rebounded and steadied in the afternoon. Last week, Beijing imposed sweeping restrictions on the export of rare-earth minerals, which are vital to consumer electronics and the tech industry. Trump then threatened additional 100% tariffs on China starting Nov. 1.

WSJ

2. Treasury Secretary Details 'Operation Warp Speed' for Rare Earths as New Industrial Policy

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration will execute an “Operation Warp Speed”-style acceleration of America’s rare earth processing, anchored by the Department of Defense’s 15% stake in MP Materials. This comments comes as the cabinet secretary was being interviewed on Fox Business about the government shutdown freezing major IPOs because the SEC is closed, a situation he called a “serious national security issue.” Outlining the financing philosophy under President Donald Trump, Bessent said the economic program aims to create assets, not debt, pointing to strategic equity positions including a stake in Intel and the Defense Department in MP Materials as examples of balance-sheet-backed industrial policy tied to critical-materials security.

The Deep Dive

3. 2026 Medicare Enrollment to Be Difficult as Insurers Squeeze Plans, Trim Benefits

Last year, seniors picking Medicare coverage faced some tough choices. This year might be even worse. The enrollment period for 2026 Medicare coverage starts Wednesday, and it is likely to be a difficult one for many enrollees. For the second year in a row, big Medicare insurers are getting rid of some plans, trimming popular benefits and increasing out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles. “This year is a nightmare,” said Marcia Mantell, a retirement-planning consultant. Medicare enrollees “have to know more than they ever have had to know…it’s all the hidden stuff,” she said. Behind the turmoil are business realities. Medicare insurers have seen their profits squeezed by higher-than-expected medical spending and regulatory changes. Now, some of the biggest are trying to improve their margins by dumping unprofitable products and by controlling costs better.

WSJ

4. Trump Administration Halts Nearly $28 Billion for Projects in Democratic Strongholds Amid Shutdown

Two weeks into the government shutdown, the Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion that had been reserved for more than 200 projects primarily located in Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Each of these infrastructure projects had received federal aid, sometimes after officials spent years pleading in Washington — only to see that money halted as President Trump has looked to punish Democrats over the course of the fiscal stalemate. The Times conducted its analysis by examining federal funding records, which include details about the city and state where each grant recipient is based. The projects include new investments in clean energy, upgrades to the electric grid and fixes to the nation’s transportation infrastructure, primarily in Democratic strongholds, such as New York and California.

NYT

5. Tensions Escalate as Deadly Fighting on Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Follows Alleged Airstrike

A. Pakistan said on Sunday that 23 of its soldiers were killed during overnight clashes with Afghan forces, after Afghanistan said it instigated cross-border retaliation for an alleged strike by Pakistan last week on Kabul. Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government launched what it called a “retaliatory operation” late on Saturday by crossing the countries’ shared 2,600km border to shoot at Pakistani forces. Pakistan responded, including with cross-border raids and rocket fire, in the most intense fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban returned to power. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have nosedived in recent months as Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban, which it had backed during the latter group’s 20-year war against Nato forces, of failing to rein in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, known as TTP, or Baloch separatist groups operating from its soil. The Pakistan Armed Forces said 23 of its forces died and 29 were injured in the overnight skirmish. They alleged that more than 200 Afghan Taliban, TTP and Baloch separatist fighters were killed.

B. Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has accused Pakistan of launching air strikes on its capital Kabul, in a major escalation of tensions with its longtime former backer. Relations between the neighbours have deteriorated sharply in recent months amid mounting attacks in Pakistan’s western border provinces by militants based in Afghanistan, and Friday’s alleged strike threatens to plunge the two sides into an armed conflict.

Kabul. Afghanistan’s defence ministry said Pakistan had “violated the air space” over Kabul with air strikes on Thursday night © Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Image

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